1. Technological Field
This disclosure pertains generally to image inpainting, and more particularly to synthesizing homogeneous areas of missing regions in a patch filling process controlled by color interpolation.
2. Background Discussion
In applications for digital image or video editing, one potential feature is that of allowing the user to remove an object (or a person) from a digital image or video. In such cases, the missing image region (hole) created by the object/person removal needs to be filled by the application, by proper content that fits the background. This process of automatic filling of the hole created by removing an object from a digital image or video is called inpainting.
The process of image inpainting involves reconstructing missing parts of an image frame, or video frame that have been destroyed or intentionally removed. If an object captured within an image is deleted, or moved, the area that was covered by (obscured by) that object in the original image, has to be reconstructed so that the resulting image still appears “natural” looking. That is to say that it is desirable that if the viewer has not seen the original image, they would be unable to notice that the image has been altered by removing, or moving an object.
There are a number of current inpainting techniques described in the literature. One of the shortcomings of these various techniques is in regard to how homogeneous regions are filled, as the synthesis process leaves visible discontinuities which can be readily apparent.
Accordingly, a need exists for a technique that provides synthesis of homogeneous region while reducing visible discontinuities.